Apple of My Eye
by EchoTheFairy
Summary: Won is greedy, scheming, merchant that sells overpriced goods. He didn't think he could love anything other than money (and apples)- until Claire came into his life. Now he'll do anything to keep her there, no matter what it takes.


Won sighed for what felt like the hundredth time that day. He drummed his fingertips on the countertop- or more accurately, the top of the box of oranges he used as a store counter. He pushed his large glasses up to the bridge of his nose and clenched his jaw- today was NOT a good day.

Of course, he didn't start out in such a sour mood when he got up at 5:30 am this morning.

He wasn't angry in the slightest when he made his way across the beach to Rose Square.

He wasn't peeved or annoyed at all as he walked down the road, past the Yodel and Poultry farms.

He was actually very happy as he got closer to Claire's farm, known more formally as "Sunshine Farm".

It was supposed to be like any of his monthly routine days:  
Go to the farm, show Claire his collection of 'rare' and maybe just a little overpriced apples, she would laugh (and his heart would absolutely NOT pump a little faster after hearing that) and shake her head a bit, but she'd still smile buy one anyway.

Only today wasn't like one of those days at all.

No, today was nothing like his routine in the slightest.

When he arrived at Claire's farm, at 6:00 am as usual, he knocked on her door, the same as he always did, and waited. And waited. And waited. And waited some more.

Won frowned, glancing at his small wristwatch hidden by his long coat sleeves, it read 6:15. She always answered the door by at least 6:02.

Where was she? Was she sick? Was she not home? ...Did she not want to buy his apples this time?

These questions went through his mind rapidly. As he stood there pondering, his thoughts were suddenly interrupted as he heard the sound of laughter.

HER laughter.

Won turned, looking around the farm until he spotted her standing near the horse shed. He smiled. Maybe she had just gotten up early for a morning horse ride. Yes of course, that had to be it. He started to make his way over, still hoping to sell his apples, when he suddenly stopped.

There was someone else with her.

And not just anyone, HIM.

The two of them were chatting together, laughing and smiling. Won watched, too stunned to move as she handed something over to HIM. He squinted, looking at what she gave him. It was shiny and sparkled a little in the morning sun- a lump of silver!

He had no idea why the sight of Claire with another man, giving them a gift made his blood boil; it just did. Really badly. Sure, he HATED silver (gold was so much better), but the way HE smiled and laughed as she handed it to him made him want to run over and strangle the life out of him.

And then it happened: the one thing that shattered his mood (and his heart). HE suddenly launched forward and brought HER into his arms- he was hugging her, and she was hugging back!

Won didn't know what happened after that. He had turned and silently walked all the way back to his (well, Zack's) house on the beach, feeling completely numb. He felt like he couldn't even breathe.

However, that didn't last- now all he felt was anger, the "punch holes in walls and scream" kind of anger.

His only problem was that he had NO idea why he was so angry.

Why did the sight of Claire hugging another man make him so enraged? He had seen her hug others before and it didn't bother him in the slightest, so why was this time so different? ...Why did he even care?

Won sighed, ran his fingers through his raven hair and took a deep breath, trying his best to calm down.

Obviously that didn't work because when Zack walked through the door at 11:00, like he always did, he gave him a questioning look.

"What's got you looking so down?" Zack asked with a raised eyebrow. "You look like you just lost a bet." He said with a chuckle, trying to lighten the mood.

Won huffed and glared a bit at his friend. "Nothing." He said with a tone that said "I don't want to talk about it".

"It certainly doesn't seem like 'nothing' happened, seeing how you look like you want to kill someone," Zack replied, crossing his arms. His slight frown suddenly turned into a smirk. "It has something to do with Claire, doesn't it?"

Won blushed, choking on his own saliva and tried to reply with a "No!", but he only ended up sputtering.

Zack's smirk only got wider.

"C'mon, just tell me what happened," he said in a sing-song way as he went to stand next to his still red-faced friend.

Won once again sighed, putting his face in his hands. He knew that Zack wouldn't let this go until he told him, so he might as well just get it over with.

As he reluctantly retold of what had happened that morning, he watched as his friend's smile got wider and wider, until he burst out laughing. Won gave him a questioning stare. "What's so funny?" He asked, annoyed.

"You, my friend, are jealous of Gray." Zack said bluntly, still laughing a bit.

Won clenched his teeth at the sound of HIS name, but then suddenly froze.

Jealous? Was he really...jealous?

Zack only laughed harder at the look on his friend's face.

Won once again glared at Zack. "Th-that's ridiculous! Why would I be jealous of...of HIM?!" He questioned angrily, slamming a fist against his countertop.

Zack just shook his head. He wasn't an idiot, he saw the looks Won gave the farmer girl when he thought no one was looking, or the way that his smile would grow whenever she walked into the store. Unfortunately, Won was pretty dense when it came to feelings.

He knew how his friend felt because he had the exact same feelings for another woman- Won was in love, and really badly too.

Zack then look at Won and noticed that he was gaping at him, his mouth slightly open. Huh. Apparently he must have said his last thought aloud. Oops.

For Won, it was like something had clicked into place. Love. He was in love with Claire. It was like a weight had been lifted off his chest.

"I'm in love with Claire." He whispered softly to himself, looking down.

How could he have not known sooner?

The way she carried herself with confidence, her golden blonde hair shimmering in the sunlight, her porcelain skin that was still beautiful even when covered in mud.

She was the only one that ever bought his apples, despite it being obvious that she knew that they were just regular fruits.

The way his heart skipped a beat whenever she smiled at him, how his palms would sweat when she would walk into the store- really, he should have known this sooner. It had been like this since the day he first met her. He was in love with Claire.

And just as his mood began to brighten with that realization, it all came crashing down.

She was already taken by HIM...Gray.

It was so obvious now; why else would she get up so early to give him gifts and hug him? They must have been dating.

Zack watched, now slightly concerned as Won's face went from surprised to overjoyed to depressed in a matter of minutes. What had gotten into him? Shouldn't he be happy about thi- oh. He then remembered that Won had seen Claire with Gray and must have gotten the wrong idea about it. Just as he was about to tell him the truth, the door to his shack burst open.

"Hello!" Said a female voice as it's owner walked into the room, a cheerful smile plastered on her face.

"Oh, hi Claire," Zack said, mentally berating himself for forgetting that she always showed up at 12:00 to bring gifts and buy from Won's shop. "What's got you so happy today?"

Won could only stare at Claire silently, his heart aching with sadness. He could guess why she was so happy; because of Gray. He frowned angrily. Even thinking of his stupid name left a sour taste in his mouth. He huffed and turned around to sort through his stock, not wanting to hear her talk about him.

Claire's smile fell a bit, noticing that Won hadn't given her his usual smile and greeting. In fact, he was completely ignoring her. Although that made her upset, she shook that away. She had exciting news to tell.

"Well, you know how I told you that Gray had been wanting to make a ring for Mary, and how I've been helping him gather the materials for it?" She said, turning her head away from Won to talk to Zack.

Won's head snapped up. Wait, what? If he was dating Claire then why would he want to make a ring for Mary?

"Yes, I remember that," Zack replied, catching Won's eye and smiling a bit. He gave him a look that said "listen closely".

"Well, I finally got the last piece of silver for him!" Claire chirped happily, grinning from ear to ear. "He'll be able to make her a ring and ask her to be his girlfriend!"

"What?!"

Claire and Zack both jumped at the sudden outburst. They turned to look at Won, his eyes wide with shock and his mouth agape.

Oh. Had he said that out loud?

He quickly composed himself, pushing his falling glasses back up against the bridge of his nose. "W-what I mean is, what do you mean he's giving her a ring? You normally give someone a flower to become their lover, no?"

Claire took a strand of her hair and twirled it in her fingers. "Well yes, that is normally the tradition here, but Mary has been reading about other towns lately," she explained, smiling softly. "She really liked the way this little place called 'Oak Tree Town' uses rings instead of flowers to ask someone out, so Gray though it would be a good idea to ask her that way instead."

Won's head was spinning as his mind struggled to process what he just heard. Gray liked Mary, not Claire. Gray wanted to date Mary, not Claire. Gray and Claire were just friends. Claire was single, not taken. His face lit up in a stupidly happy grin.

"That's wonderful news!" He said with a little too much enthusiasm. He ignored Zack's knowing chuckle.

"It is, isn't it?" Claire replied with equal enthusiasm, not really knowing why Won was so joyful about this, but too happy to really care. She then remembered the other reason she had come here, the same reason she came every day.

Reaching into her rucksack, she pulled out a small lump of gold and held it out to Won. "And of course, I didn't forget to bring you your favorite!" She said with a grin.

Won took the gold from her with shaky hands, his face turning slightly red. "Thanks very much," he said, struggling not to stutter. He once again ignored Zack's laughter.

After giving Zack a quick gift, she turned and headed towards the exit. "I'd love to stay but I have work to do," she said as she opened the door. She turned around and gave them both one last smile. "I'll see y'all later!" Won and Zack said their goodbyes as she walked out, the door closing shut behind her.

Zack turned to his friend, chuckling when he saw that Won was still grinning like an idiot. "Looks like you've got a chance, lover boy."

Won just rolled his eyes, his smile not leaving as he went back to sorting through his stock. Zack could tease him all he wants, nothing could ruin his mood now.

He took back his thoughts from earlier- today was a good day.


End file.
